Update: The bill was not passed. The legislation failed on a 14-21 vote late last night.

State lawmakers in Sacramento are poised to vote today on whether California should take the drastic step of becoming the first state in the Union to ban disposable plastic shopping bags. The bill has been the aim of a large lobbying campaign on behalf of the plastic bag manufacturing industry which says the bill will destroy jobs. Those who support the bill say that plastic bags are costly to collect and dispose of and are bad for the environment. California uses 19 billion plastic bags every year. If passed the law would phase in over two years, starting in 2012 by taking effect in large retailers and supermarkets and then being implemented in smaller stores in 2013. San Francisco and some other cities have their own bans on plastic bags but a statewide ban would be unprecedented.
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